A Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar

Life for Alex Schrader has never involved girls. He goes to an all-boys prep school and spends most of his time goofing around with his friends. But all that changes the first time he meets Bijou Doucet, a Haitian girl recently relocated to Brooklyn after the earthquake-and he is determined to win her heart. For Bijou, change is the only constant, and she's surprised every day by how different life is in America, especially when a boy asks her out. Alex quickly learns that there are rules when it comes to girls-both in Haitian culture and with his own friends. And Bijou soon learns that she doesn't have to let go of her roots to find joy in her new life.

Told in alternating viewpoints against the vibrant backdrop of Haitian-American culture, Alex and Bijou take their first tender steps toward love in this heartwarming story.

JOSH FARRAR is the author of Rules to Rock By. Josh wrote A Song for Bijou as a kind of love letter to the borough of Brooklyn, New York, where he lives. To research A Song for Bijou, he interviewed Haitians and Haitian Americans in the New York area and took long winter walks in the neighborhood of Flatbush. He also sampled many delicious West Indian dishes, listened to rara music in Prospect Park, and bruised his thumb in a Haitian drumming class. www.FarrarBooks.comAuthor location: Brooklyn, NY

Unrated Critic Reviews for A Song for Bijou

Kirkus Reviews

Surviving middle school and puberty is an age-old challenge that video cameras and YouTube have only complicated, as vividly demonstrated in this enjoyable, seriocomic tale of new love, culture clash, adolescent social stratification and friendship.

Publishers Weekly

Courting Bijou proves problematic for Alex since Bijouâs strict uncle wonât let her leave the house unescortedâit takes creative strategizing, help from mutual friends, and breaking household rules for the two to get together.